Refugee Week 2017: "With courage let us all combine"

Refugee Week is celebrated in Australia between 18 - 24 June 2017.  As Refugee Week draws to a close for another year, I thought it important to share some children's and young adult/youth literature about refugees and the courage it takes them to survive.

When I first began this post, I thought I would feature maybe one page of picture books that focus on the courage of refugees and their stories from around the world.  What became clear, was that this is a very big issue that affects so many people worldwide, and I started asking how its importance could be addressed significantly in just one short week?

I am going to keep this post brief, not to limit its importance, but rather to share links for further investigation.

I have several pinterest boards where I pin resources and ideas for supporting learning about refugees, migrants and other cultures.  The links are included below.

Refugees
https://au.pinterest.com/kyjac/refugees/

Refugees in Australia
https://au.pinterest.com/kyjac/refugees-in-australia/

Australian Multiculturalism
https://au.pinterest.com/kyjac/australian-multiculturalism/

Migrants
https://au.pinterest.com/kyjac/migrants/

Cultures
https://au.pinterest.com/kyjac/cultures/

Poverty
https://au.pinterest.com/kyjac/poverty/

Peace
https://au.pinterest.com/kyjac/peace/

I also have some favourite resources that I use to study refugees, and one of them is the picture book, "My Two Blankets" by Irena Kobald, illustrated by Freya Blackwood.

You can read my previous blog post about this picture book, with links to free downloads and resources here.  Click on the image above to learn more about the resource I made to support the picture book, "My Two Blankets".  

This week, I will be giving away one copy of my resource for the picture book, "My Two Blankets" and also a copy of the picture book, "My Name is not Refugee" by Kate Milner.  

I actually ordered two copies of the picture book, "My Name is not Refugee" (by mistake on different days, as only I can!), so I am happy to gift one copy to one of my followers.  Both of these picture books have won awards in their own right, so I am happy to share them with you!

Please enter the Rafflecopter below if you are interested in scoring one (or both) of these resources.  I will keep the entry process really simple :)  Make sure you use the arrows on the rafflecopter to choose which giveway you wish to enter.  You are more than welcome to enter both :)  Click on the hyperlink below "a Rafflecopter giveaway" to enter, if the Rafflecopter image is not visible.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a terrific week everyone and happy school holidays to my teaching colleagues in Australia!

Please note that I am in no way affiliated with the authors, illustrators or book providers linked to in this post.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Congratulations to the CBCA picture book award winners for 2015!

I am loving this new picture book which has won the 2015 picture book award through the Children's Book Council of Australia awards.

Written by Irena Kobald and illustrated by Freya Blackwood, this title has so much relevance to many different curriculum areas.

It is a wonderful title for any studies around refugees, immigration, cultural diversity, change, story quilts and/or multiculturalism. 
It is also terrific for inspiring students to develop a love of words and new vocabulary.

You can view a read aloud of this picture book on YouTube.  

Free teaching notes are available here, here and here.

It's also a terrific picture book for themes on friendship and belonging.  You can read more about this title and view some of the stunning illustrations on Freya Blackwood's webpage here.

This title has so much potential in so many areas of the curriculum, or just for the important messages it carries within its plot and text.

Congratulations to both Irena Kobald and Freya Blackwood for creating such a beautiful and thoughtful picture book and for winning the CBCA 2015 Australian picture book award :)

I created a resource to support this picture book, which includes higher order thinking reading comprehension activities.  Find out more by clicking on the image above.  It includes my favourite 4H reading strategy, with 45 comprehension questions for the students to sort according to whether they would find the answer to the question in their head, heart, whether the answer is hidden (so they need to think and search) or whether the answer is right here (on the page).  The children can then work individually or in small groups to find the answers to the questions.  Bookmarks and posters are included for each of the 4H reading strategies.

I have also included bibliographies of titles that could work as companion texts alongside "My Two Blankets", including books about story quilts from different cultures, books that stimulate a love of words, and picture books that feature characters from across the world, with interesting names.  You can read more about the resource here.  

While you are there, you may like to read about my new "Read Around Australia" resource and reading challenge, here.

Please note that you will need to have a copy of the picture book "My Two Blankets" to use this reading comprehension resource, but it is well worth purchasing because it can be used for many different purposes (including just reading it for enjoyment) across many different year levels and curriculum areas.  

Happy reading everyone :)